Barbara Handschu

Last updated

Barbara Ellen Handschu (born June 28, 1942) is an American political activist and lawyer, whose surname was memorialized on a set of federal guidelines "[ordering] restrictions on police surveillance ... signed by the city [of New York] in 1985", which became known as the Handschu decree. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Handschu completed her undergraduate studies at New York University. She later earned her law degree at the University of Michigan Law School in 1963. [1] She began her career as a law secretary to Justice Hilda Schwartz until her 1969 arrest at a squatters' demonstration in Manhattan caused her to switch careers to criminal defense lawyer. [1] [3]

Career

Handschu was an activist lawyer, representing, among others, the Young Lords of Spanish Harlem (to one of whom, Robert Lemus, she was briefly married), the Black Panthers, the Chicago Seven, and participants in the Attica Prison riots.

She had been a resident of Buffalo, New York, and now is exclusively practicing matrimonial and custody law in New York City; she no longer practices criminal law. She served as the first female president of the New York chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in the mid-1990s [4] and served as president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers from 2002-2003. [5] As of 2016, she worked in New York as a divorce attorney. [6]

Handschu has appeared in court multiple times regarding the original lawsuit filed against the New York Police Department in 1971 (over how the department spied on protestors during the Vietnam War era), [7] including in 2013, when the department came under scrutiny for targeting Muslim communities following a rollback of the Handschu guidelines by a judge in 2003. [7] [8]

Personal life

Handschu lives in Manhattan, returning to the city in 2013 after living in Buffalo for decades. [6] Handschu participated in political and non-political protests over issues like Vietnam, women's rights, and race. [9]

Handschu Decree

For a more detailed history see Handschu decree main page.

Barbara Handschu’s name was first on the list of plaintiffs in a May 1971 lawsuit challenging “how New York City police officers conducted surveillance of political activities.” The results of this lawsuit led to a consent decree which was signed by Federal Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. in 1985 and became known as the Handschu Decree. [6]

In 2019, the New York City Municipal Archives “digitized more than 140 hours of 16mm surveillance-film footage created by the New York City Police Department (NYPD)’s photography unit between 1960 and 1980” and is “closely related to the historical paper records, often referred to as the “Handschu” files.” [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department</span> Municipal police force of New York City

The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Liberation Army</span> American underground, black nationalist militant organization

The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was an underground Marxist-Leninist, black-nationalist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) members who served above ground before going underground, the organization's program was one of war against the United States government, and its stated goal was to "take up arms for the liberation and self-determination of black people in the United States." The BLA carried out a series of bombings, killings of police officers and drug dealers, robberies, and prison breaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Kelly</span> American Commissioner

Raymond Walter Kelly is an American police officer who was the longest-serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first person to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly, a lifelong New Yorker, had spent 45 years in the NYPD, serving in 25 different commands and as Police Commissioner from 1992 to 1994 and again from 2002 until 2013. Kelly was the first man to rise from Police Cadet to Police Commissioner, holding all of the department's ranks, except for Three-Star Bureau Chief, Chief of Department and Deputy Commissioner, having been promoted directly from Two-Star Chief to First Deputy Commissioner in 1990. After his handling of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, he was mentioned for the first time as a possible candidate for FBI Director. After Kelly turned down the position, Louis Freeh was appointed.

In the United States, Red Squads were police intelligence units that specialized in infiltrating, conducting counter-measures and gathering intelligence on political and social groups during the 20th century. Dating as far back as the Haymarket Riot in 1886, Red Squads became common in larger cities such as Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles during the First Red Scare of the 1920s. They were set up as specialized units of city police departments, as a weapon against labor unions, communists, anarchists, and other dissidents.

The Handschu agreement is a set of guidelines that regulate police behavior in New York City with regard to political activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police</span> Auxiliary police in New York City

The New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police is a volunteer reserve police force which is a subdivision of the Patrol Services Bureau of the New York City Police Department. Auxiliary Police Officers assist the NYPD with uniformed patrols, providing traffic control, crowd control, and other services during major events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Martini</span> American judge (born 1947)

William John Martini is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, having been in active service from November 14, 2002, to February 10, 2015. Martini is one of 24 judges seated on the New Jersey District Court, and his highest profile case to date was the corruption trial for former Newark Mayor Sharpe James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department corruption and misconduct</span> Overview of misconduct and corruption in the NYPD

Throughout the history of the New York City Police Department, numerous instances of corruption, misconduct, and other allegations of such, have occurred. Over 12,000 cases have resulted in lawsuit settlements totaling over $400 million during a five-year period ending in 2014. In 2019, misconduct lawsuits cost the taxpayer $68,688,423, a 76 percent increase over the previous year, including about $10 million paid out to two exonerated individuals who had been falsely convicted and imprisoned.

Barbara Sue Jones is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She has been the monitor of the Trump Organization for the New York state courts since 2022, and since the February 16, 2024 decision barring Donald Trump and his sons from running the company, she has "total oversight of the real-estate conglomerate".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalil Muntaqim</span> American activist convicted of murder, former political prisoner

Jalil Abdul Muntaqim is a political activist and former member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and the Black Liberation Army (BLA) who served 49 years in prison for two counts of first-degree murder. In August 1971, he was arrested in California along with Albert “Nuh” Washington and Herman Bell and charged with the killing of two NYPD police officers, Waverly Jones and Joseph A. Piagentini, in New York City on May 21. In 1975, he was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with possible parole after 22 years. Muntaqim had been the subject of attention for being repeatedly denied parole despite having been eligible since 1993. In June 2020, Muntaqim was reportedly sick with COVID-19. He was released from prison on October 7, 2020, after more than 49 years of incarceration and 11 parole denials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domain Awareness System</span> Surveillance system by Microsoft

The Domain Awareness System is the largest digital surveillance system in the world as part of the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative in partnership between the New York Police Department and Microsoft to monitor New York City. It allows the NYPD to track surveillance targets and gain detailed information about them, and is overseen by the counterterrorism bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darcel Clark</span> American attorney and prosecutor

Darcel Denise Clark is an American attorney and prosecutor who has served as the Bronx County District Attorney since 2016. Clark is the first woman to hold that office, and the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in the history of the State of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department Strategic Response Group</span>

The New York Police Department's Strategic Response Group (SRG) is a unit of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) formed in 2015 for counter-terrorism and the policing of political protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briana's Law</span> New York State law requiring CPR training for police

Briana's Law is the name given to New York Senate Bill S3165B signed by Governor Andrew Mark Cuomo during the 2017–2018 Legislative Session which honors the memory of Briana Ojeda. Briana Ojeda was an 11-year-old girl from Brooklyn, New York, who died in the summer of 2010 when police officer Alfonso Mendez did not perform CPR on her after she suffered from an asthma attack. Prior to the passage of the law, the New York Police Department trained its officers in CPR, but they were not obligated by law to perform it. Briana's Law requires that every police officer, member of the State Police, including police officer trainees and state police cadets, receive CPR training prior to employment as well as during employment every two years, where practicable, but no later than 4 years, and requires that individuals demonstrate proficiency in the technique.

Operation Fox Hunt is a Chinese government covert global operation whose purported aim is anti-corruption under Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping's administration. As of 2017, it has led to the arrest of over 40 of its 100 most wanted globally. It has been accused of targeting Chinese dissidents living abroad to stop their activism under the guise of returning corrupt Chinese nationals to China to face criminal charges. Kidnappings and other forms of coercion have been used to repatriate individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police surveillance in New York City</span>

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) actively monitors public activity in New York City, New York, United States. Historically, surveillance has been used by the NYPD for a range of purposes, including against crime, counter-terrorism, and also for nefarious or controversial subjects such as monitoring political demonstrations, activities, and protests, and even entire ethnic and religious groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department Intelligence Bureau</span> Police department division

The New York City Police Department Intelligence Bureau is a division of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) which claims responsibility for the detection and disruption of criminal and terrorist activity through the use of intelligence-led policing. There is limited oversight over the Intelligence Bureau, and it conducts work in secrecy without the city council being informed of operations.

Protect Democracy is a nonprofit organization based in the United States. A nonpartisan group, Protect Democracy seeks to check what it believes are authoritarian attacks on U.S. democracy.

Mosque crawlers or rakers were informants dispatched by the New York Police Department after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to monitor Islamic people in the city. From 2001 until the program was exposed in 2011, The NYPD Intelligence Division used these informants to photograph license plates of congregants, track the ethnic makeup of worshippers, and collect other information. Rakers also monitored other places where Muslims congregated such as restaurants or student organizations, and in some cases attempted to bait people into making incriminating statements.

Martin Stolar was a prominent American civil rights attorney and movement lawyer in New York City. He was best known for representing anti-Vietnam war protesters, Black Panthers, Attica prisoners and members of Occupy Wall Street among many others.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Finn, Robin (2007-02-23). "Making Police Obey the Rules That Bear Her Name". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  2. ↑ Katz, Matt (2021-09-07). "NYPD's Legacy Of Police Surveillance, From Black Panthers To Mosques To Black Lives Matter". Gothamist. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  3. ↑ "Barbara E. Handschu". Dobrish Michaels Gross LLP. Archived from the original on 2015-06-01.
  4. ↑ Searls, David (22 August 2007). "A LAW ALL HER OWN". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Past Presidents - aaml.org". aaml.org. 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  6. 1 2 3 "For NY lawyer, a 45-year-old surveillance case is her legacy". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  7. 1 2 York, Associated Press in New (2013-08-28). "NYPD secretly labels mosques as terror groups and spies on them". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  8. ↑ "Lawyers want judge to stop NYPD monitoring of Muslims". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  9. ↑ "For NY lawyer, a 45-year-old surveillance case is her legacy". AP News. 2016-05-28. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  10. ↑ "Handschu — Blog - For The Record". NYC Department of Records & Information Services. 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.